The Week In Fist Pumps

It’s time for another bite from crumpet that is The Week in Fist Pumps which features thing making me happy outside the cinema.

A combination of fist pumps and twiddling thumbs this week because I have been engrossed in a couple of new videogames. I’m also in the process of moving house so this week’s picks are keeping me sane amongst the insanity of sticky tape, boxes and bubble wrap.

Let me know what’s making you happy this week in the comments below or Tweet me @popcornjunkies.

Schooners, sextants and booty

For a long time pirates were the bane of cinema until Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl made those peg leg scallywags fun again while filling Disney’s tressure chests with gold. Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag does for pirate videogames what Pirates of the Caribbean did for pirate films. I’m about six hours into the game and completely smitten with the big and beautiful open world. There are oceans, islands and ports to explore, and you have full control of a pirate ship to get around. You can use your ship to attack and loot other vessels, grab a treasure map and dig for treasure or just go swimming with sharks in the ocean if you want. It’s an open world game that encourages exploration and you are rewarded for playing the game on your own terms. The basic gameplay of an Assassin’s Creed game is still intact with the fighting, stealth and free-running mechanic still intact, but Black Flag excels by revelling in life as a pirate. I’m playing Black Flag on Xbox 360 and the graphics are decent but it’s getting a release on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One and, no doubt, it will be stunning on the next generation of consoles.

From one Junkie to another

Screen Junkies are the team behind the very funny Honest Trailers series on YouTube. A new Honest Trailer for Man of Steel has been uploaded and it’s hilarious. Regardless of your opinion of any of the films that get the Honest Trailer treatment, the observations are genuinely witty and I love it when they take on my favourite movies like The Avengers.

Assemble!

I have an unhealthy obsession with Lego and have already planned to raise my children using an intricate Lego educational/reward system. I got my hands on the new videogame Lego Marvel: Superheroes and it has blown my mind so far. The brilliant thing is that it’s set in the Marvel cinematic universe – there are plenty of references to all the movies – but through the power of Lego’s licencing deal with Marvel and Disney, all the heroes and villains are available. In the opening mission I played as Iron Man and Hulk smashing through New York City when Spider-Man showed up for some web-slinging action. I almost fainted. Shortly after the opening I played as Captain America and Mr Fantastic and they skydived off the S.H.I.E.L.D Helicarrier toward the Baxter Building. Mr Fantastic even floated to the ground with his body shaped like a parachute. I can’t wait to see what else this game throws up while trying not to throw up with excitement.

Let me know what’s making you happy this week in the comments below or Tweet me @popcornjunkies.